Chapter 86
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86
“……?!”
Sophia was flustered. And in her panic, she seemed to realize it herself.
That her reaction just now had confirmed I was right.
As expected, Sophia Frezier was an opponent much easier to handle while she was still young.
Even in this moment, it was chillingly clear that Lilius and Aubrey only cared about their ‘son.’
Honestly, I thought it was a bit much.
If they had raised her since she was a child, shouldn't they treat her as their own?
To push their daughter into a marriage no one wanted just to save their son...
‘In The Milk Bread, they didn't accept Ferdinand’s proposal right away; they dragged it out.’
In the original game, Lilius and Aubrey were characters who rode the wave of the Grand Ducal House’s power to success.
Perhaps because of that, they didn't immediately accept Ferdinand’s proposal.
But they didn't reject it outright, either.
Ferdinand’s proposal, which had remained in a stalemate, finally proceeded when he returned from the battlefield carrying a massive dowry.
Sophia had thrown a fit, saying she hated the idea, but the original setting of The Milk Bread was that she reluctantly accepted after seeing Ferdinand’s face in person.
‘I can understand why.’
A defective product.
Divine power hyperaffliction.
The boy who doesn't grow.
Despite the numerous rumors and adverse conditions, Ferdinand’s appearance was breathtakingly beautiful.
‘Even I found it hard to breathe when I actually saw him at the White Ivory Tower.’
Even though he was a bit thin because he hadn't been eating well due to Empress Carmi’s secret abuse, his looks were radiant.
And among the nobles who supported the Crown Prince, there was a secret hope that ‘surely’ the divine power hyperaffliction he suffered from would one day be cured.
‘Actually, that’s about as much as the game ever explained.’
In The Milk Bread, Sophia was literally nothing more than a passing side character.
But now, the situation had changed this much.
To be honest, it was an absurd situation.
‘Anyone would think I’d sentenced Tedric to death by a thousand cuts.’
I mean, really?
He’s just going to the freezing cold border, right?
He’ll get worked like a dog as a lowest-ranking knight, right?
He’ll get hazed and picked on here and there, right?
Maybe break a bone or get some skin scraped off, right?
That’s all it is, right?
And they can’t even handle that, so they try to use their daughter?!
Thinking that, I felt a tiny bit sorry for none other than Crown Prince Ferdinand.
Just a tiny bit.
It was because I had internally referred to the marriage as a ‘match no one wanted.’
‘No, well, there’s nothing to be sorry about.’
Ferdinand becomes an incredible man later on anyway.
Besides, isn't he one of the male leads?
After Ferdinand awakens, how many nobles end up beating the ground in regret?
At that point, The Milk Bread shifts from a ‘family regret’ story to a ‘nobility regret’ story.
Sophia would be one of the representative figures of that group, but well… it wasn't my job to enlighten her.
‘It’s not like she’d listen to me anyway.’
“Sovereignty over internal affairs is quite a nice thing, isn't it?”
Just then, I heard Sophia’s sarcastic voice.
“How times have changed. To think you’d be saying all this to me and showering me with all these jewels.”
It seemed that due to her misplaced anger, she was starting to find even my presence offensive.
“You used to live in a warehouse. Back then, you barely scraped by with two or three dresses.”
“So you knew all along. That it was a warehouse, not a castle?”
For a moment, Sophia flinched.
“I-I found out a bit late. And Tedric said it would be a disaster if you found out, so I had no choice.”
“I’m not blaming you.”
How times have changed.
Sophia had said it to mock me, but she wasn't wrong.
It hit me anew that I was a person of power who held the sovereignty over internal affairs.
If I weren't, would I even be hearing such things from Sophia, the daughter of Lilius and Aubrey?
‘As I thought.’
There’s really no need for Aubrey to think of her as anything but a biological daughter.
She’s a daughter who fits right in with that family.
Just look at how wonderfully wicked and selfish she’s grown up to be.
Furthermore, although she backed down immediately, the fact that she dared to mock me was only possible because she knew her current position better than anyone.
‘She’s calculated that since she’s now the fiancée of the Imperial Family, I won't be able to properly torment her even if I’m angry.’
In that short span of time, no less.
As expected, the environment one is raised in is more important than the blood in one’s veins.
‘That man Lilius should have made Sophia the heir instead of Tedric.’
Her head spins just as fast as his, and her selfish temperament is a perfect match.
‘Of course, in this world of The Milk Bread, no one has a worse temper than Tulia.’
I took a moment to steady my breathing and my mind.
“Sophia.”
I rested my chin on one hand and looked at Sophia. And then, immediately.
I cut to the main point of the day.
“I actually think you’re a bit of a fool.”
“What… did you say?”
“Why do you have to ask for Tedric’s life as your engagement gift?”
“Ha.”
Sophia laughed leisurely, as if she finally understood.
“You called me here to drive a wedge between Brother Tedric and me, didn't you? That’s why you gave me such a big gift.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…….”
When I admitted it so readily, Sophia faltered again.
Sophia was smarter than Tedric anyway.
It was much better to keep catching her off guard.
“Why do you have to go out of your way to ask Grandfather to do Tedric a favor? Even at the cost of giving up that wonderful ‘engagement gift’?”
“No matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that saving Brother Tedric is more beneficial for our family.”
“Beneficial for the family?”
I eventually burst into a loud laugh. Sophia’s face went completely stiff.
“Sophia Frezier. Are you really a fool?”
“What?”
“Don't look out for the family’s benefit—look out for your own.”
“……My own benefit?”
“Yes. You dimwit.”
“You keep…!”
“What changes if Tedric comes back?”
Suddenly, Sophia’s mouth snapped shut.
“Tedric is still the ‘biological son,’ so he’ll take all the good things you can’t even imagine. Because you’re the adopted daughter.”
“……!”
“You have a chance to get rid of that Tedric for a ‘justifiable reason,’ so why on earth are you saving him by using your once-in-a-lifetime engagement gift?”
“…….”
“If this isn't being a fool, then what is? Am I wrong?”
“…….”
Sophia didn't answer.
However, her face was incredibly conflicted.
“Listen carefully, Sophia.”
For today’s conversation, I took a sip of the tea from the Summer Continent that I had specifically brought out.
Sophia, perhaps feeling parched, followed suit and took a few sips of her tea as well.
The tea, which maintained its aroma even though it had cooled considerably, made one feel at ease.
There was a reason the tea leaves were so expensive.
Lisian had given them to me.
‘If Lisian gives all this to me, what is he going to drink? Surely not plain water…?’
I thought it might be a good idea to tell Lisian to go out to the commercial district with me in a couple of days to buy some tea leaves…….
Whoops.
Quickly gathering my straying thoughts, I turned my gaze back to Sophia.
“Is there any need to save Tedric with your engagement gift? Sophia Frezier.”
“B-but.”
“Of course, I understand your position. But your mother and father are the kind of people who would throw away your precious engagement gift for the sake of their beloved biological son, aren't they?”
“…….”
“So, why don't you go to Grandfather and say this instead?”
I whispered like a wicked chairman discussing a secret embezzlement.
“That you will manage Tedric’s commercial district yourself.”